Chapter Six: Types of Modern Terrorism

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Chapter SixTypes of Modern Terrorism
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Cyberterrorism
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Cyberterrorism

• Definition
• Use of information technology by terrorists for
  the purpose of promoting a political agenda
• Barry Collin coined the term in the early 1990s

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Cyberterrorism

• Targets for cyberterrorism
• Computers
• Computer networks
• Information storage and retrieval systems
• Attractiveness of computer technology
• Allows terrorist groups to remain connected,
  providing covert discussions and anonymity
• Much less expensive and work intensive
• Allows terrorists to reach their audience with
  little effort

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Cyberterrorism

• Barry Collin
• All forms of cyberterrorism are designed to
  strike at one or more of three areas
• The place where information is accessed
• The place where data is controlled
• The points where information is mined

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Cyberterrorism

• Joshua Green
• The actual dangers of cyber attacks are merely
  economic
• National Cyber Alert System
• Unveiled by the Department of Homeland Security
  in 2004, the system is designed to detect and
  destroy cyber attacks and cyberterrorism

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Suicide Terrorism
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Suicide Terrorism

• Definition
• Involves the intentional sacrifice of an
  attackers life for the purpose of inflicting
  damage on an enemy
• Suicide operations are part of military history
• Homicide bomber
• Some people use the phrase homicide bomber to
  describe suicide terrorism, arguing that it
  places the emphasis on the victims and blames the
  attacker for political murder

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Suicide Terrorism

• Reasons suicide attacks are popular
• The virtually guarantee some type of delivery and
  they serve as cheap guided missiles
• They are intimidating
• They are difficult to stop
• They generate high casualties as well as
  publicity for the attacking group
• The nature of the attack strikes fear into an
  enemy
• The attacks are effective against superior forces
  and weapons
• They give terrorist groups maximum control over
  the attack

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Suicide Terrorism

• Three things all suicide attacks have in common
• Secrecy
• Reconnaissance
• Rehearsal

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Suicide Terrorism

• Suicide bomber profile
• At one time, suicide bombers could be profiled
• The previous profile no longer applies
• More than 40 of suicide bombers are over 40
• Women and the wealthy have joined the ranks of
  suicide bombers

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Suicide Terrorism

• Groups throughout the world that use suicide
  bombing
• Hezbollah
• Hamas
• Egyptian Islamic Jihad
• The Egyptian Islamic Group
• The Armed Islamic Group of Algeria
• Barbar Khalsa in India
• The Kurdish Workers Party
• The LTTE
• Al Qaeda

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Suicide Terrorism

• Trend in suicide bombing
• Popularity in suicide bombing is rising
• They are cheap and effective
• Regardless of counter tactics, most analysts
  believe that suicide terrorism will continue

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Weapons of Mass Destruction Biological
Agents
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Weapons of Mass Destruction Biological Agents

• Four types of biological agents
• Natural poisons, or toxins that occur without
  human modification
• Viruses
• Bacteria
• Plagues

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Weapons of Mass Destruction Biological Agents

• The most threatening agents
• Smallpox
• Anthrax
• Plague
• Botulism
• Tularemia
• Hemorrhagic fever

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Weapons of Mass Destruction Biological Agents

• Biological terrorism in the United States
• September 1984 Engineered by followers of the
  Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in Oregon, the attack
  occurred when Rajneeshees, as they were called,
  contaminated salad bars in the Dalles, Oregon,
  with the bacterium Salmonella
• In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks
  Two tabloid writers were infected by anthrax
  through the mail, followed by numerous anthrax
  attacks throughout the United States

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Weapons of Mass Destruction Biological Agents

• Practical problems for terrorists
• When an agent is released, it is very difficult
  to control the spread of the disease

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Weapons of Mass Destruction Chemical and
Radiological Agents
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Weapons of Mass Destruction Chemical and
Radiological Agents

• Four types of chemical agents
• Nerve agents
• Blood agents
• Choking agents
• Blistering agents

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Weapons of Mass Destruction Chemical and
Radiological Agents

• Attractiveness of chemical weapons
• Easy to control
• Users can avoid the area they attack
• Problems of chemical weapons
• Terrorists must have a delivery mechanism
• It takes a lot of chemicals to present a threat
• Weather patterns, air, and water can neutralize a
  chemical threat

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Weapons of Mass Destruction Chemical and
Radiological Agents

• Dirty bomb
• A conventional explosive used to spread a
  chemical or radioactive agent around a large area
• Drawback of the dirty bomb
• The hear produced by the explosion may destroy
  the chemicals attached to the bomb

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Weapons of Mass Destruction Chemical and
Radiological Agents

• Nuclear weapons
• Nuclear weapons are available on the black market
  from sources in the former Soviet Union
• Terrorists have placed instructions online for
  building a nuclear device
• It is difficult to obtain and detonate nuclear
  weapons
• Nuclear waste is a ready-made dirty bomb

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Weapons of Mass Destruction Chemical and
Radiological Agents

• The threat of weapons of mass destruction
• Terrorists may say they have a dirty bomb or they
  have released smallpox or they have poisoned the
  food supply with radiation, and the public may
  well panic
• Fear of fear is one of the greatest problems
  associated with terrorism